It has long been known that the usual means of cleaning teeth, such as by a toothbrush, does not adequately remove plaque. To properly clean the teeth requires proper use of dental floss along with brushing. However, it is also known that most people do not have the required manual dexterity or refuse to spend the amount of time necessary to properly clean teeth. To solve some of the problems related to the usual ineffective use of a toothbrush and toothpaste, such devices as vibrating toothbrushes, pulsating water apparatus and ultrasonic toothcleaning apparatus have been devised. Examples of ultrasonic devices which are particularly efficient are described in Application Ser. No. 790,312, filed Apr. 25, 1977 for "Ultrasonic Tooth Cleaner" by E. E. Hatter, R. H. Taylor and R. D. McGunigle issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,454, and in Application Ser. No. 12,984, filed Feb. 21, 1979 by E. E. Hatter, R. H. Taylor and R. D. McGunigle issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,510, the disclosures of said patent being incorporated herein by reference. Such devices are used in conjunction with a liquid serving as a medium for the transmission of sonic energy from the transducer of the device throughout the mouth cavity to the surfaces of the teeth. The devices operate by cavitating the liquid, which in turn serves to loosen plaque from the surfaces of the teeth.
Depending upon the extent of adherence of plaque to a patient's teeth, the level of power used by the ultrasonic cavitation device will be more or less effective in removing the plaque. Generally, lower power levels are more desirable in being safer and less damaging, instantaneously and accumulatively, to gum tissue. Accordingly, patients with more adherent plaque would take longer for the plaque to be removed. Up until now, there was little one could do to modify the effectiveness of the procedure with respect to any particular patient's mouth. In particular, the coupling liquid has served merely as a means for supporting the cavitation and did not take an active part in a program for plaque removal.
The present invention provides a dental composition which can be used as a liquid coupler for a cavitation device, serving not only the mechanical cavitation function but also providing a means for modifying the nature of the plaque in a patient's mouth. More particularly, the composition provided herewith when used on a daily maintenance basis can result in plaque which is not as adherent as plaque which would otherwise be formed.
The present invention therefore provides a method for reducing the cohesiveness of bacterial plaque and the adherence of plaque to teeth, and a dental composition therefor. Specifically, a method is provided for limiting the adherence to teeth of plaque comprising applying daily to a person's teeth a dentrifice containing a limited amount, 0.001-0.05% by weight, of titanium tetrafluoride, preferably in combination with at least 0.5% by weight xylitol, or 0.01% by weight saccharin.
When used in a maintenance program, the dentrifice can be in any of the usual forms for topical application, such as toothpastes, tooth powders, dental creams, chewing gums and the like, but it is advantageously in liquid form so as to be usable as a mouthwash and in the preferred form of the invention as a coupling liquid for a cavitation procedure. As will be described in more detail hereinafter, the particular formulation when used on a daily maintenance basis results in plaque which is not as adherent as plaque which would otherwise be formed, thereby enabling the use of a cavitation device of lower power than otherwise would be used, with a resultant greater margin of safety.